"I’m full of gratitude for the players,![]()
the organization, and the fans who have put the roof over my head for 19 years."
the organization, and the fans who have put the roof over my head for 19 years."
After officially announcing his retirement at the end of the 2023-24 season, Jack Edwards was honored by the Bruins on Sunday in recognition of his nearly two-decade run as the team’s play-by-play voice on NESN broadcasts.
As part of the festivities, Edwards’ colorful calls, catchphrases, and passionate pleas for both whistles and retribution were put on display as part of a pregame video tribute and ceremony.
The Bruins also unveiled a mural in the broadcasting booth Edwards shared with color analyst Andy Brickley that reads: “From high above the ice,” — quoting Edwards’ signature opening on broadcasts.
“I’m full of gratitude for the players, the organization, and the fans who have put the roof over my head for 19 years,” Edwards told reporters during Boston’s eventual 2-0 win over the Kraken on Sunday. “And it’s truly an honor to have my family’s name on the wall of the booth where I made a living in a world class arena.”
Edwards announced his retirement at the end of the Bruins’ 2023-24 regular season, noting that Boston’s playoff run would be his final stint in the booth after first calling games on NESN in 2005.
In the lead-up to Edwards’ retirement, questions arose over his speech patterns and delivery, which considerably slowed over time. In a conversation with The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn in February, Edwards said he had received no clarity from doctors as to what hampered his trademark energetic delivery on the mic.
“I did not have some kind of accident,” Edwards told Finn. “I do not have cancer. I don’t have dementia. I haven’t had a stroke. All of that’s been confirmed by Mass. General neurology. They’ve done tests that seem like I’m going through some sort of science-fiction scene, but it’s really true. The images of my brain literally reveal nothing. That’s my joke with them.”
Edwards offered up a similar sentiment in his latest meeting with the media on Sunday.
“Let‘s get the elephant in the room out of the way first. The doctors still haven’t determined what’s going on between my brain and my mouth,” Edwards said, adding: “Despite Toronto fans’ insistence, there’s nothing wrong with my brain.”
While Edwards’ bombastic calls and affinity for the Bruins might have drawn the ire of opposing fans, the New England native added that several of his catchphrases — including “tumbling muffin” and “Chinese mustard” remain popular lexicon among local fans.
“One year, I was doing an autograph session this summer, and one woman showed up with a jar of Chinese mustard,” Edwards said. “It blew my mind because I stole that line from Jim Bouton in ‘Ball Four.’ Gary Bell was talking to him and said, ‘Let me get this straight, … if I just brush him back and put three fastballs on the outside corner with Chinese mustard on them, they’ll be alright.’”
Edwards, who added that he did autograph the jar of Chinese mustard, was also asked what his favorite call of all time was.
“This building is vibrating,” Edwards said, referring to Boston’s Game 6 win over the Montreal Canadiens during the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“That was an intentional tribute to Bob Wilson, who exclaimed after Jean Ratelle’s goal against Montreal in overtime, ‘This building is moving,’” Edwards said. “I called him the next day and said, ‘Did you hear that? He said he did. … He was my model for play-by-play during my UNH days.”
